But Dodgers manager Don Mattingly made it clear there is no reason for Crawford to hurry back.

“I’m not that worried about it, honestly,” Mattingly said when asked how Crawford would fit back into the picture when he returns from his ankle injury, possibly by the end of next week. “We’ll deal with it when it gets here. We’ve been playing pretty good. I don’t expect to be making a bunch of changes to mess with what’s going on.

“What’s that saying – don’t mess with a good thing?”

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, Mattingly was offered.

“There you go,” he said. “You know what – you never know what happens in five days, six days. Things tend to work themselves out. What can I tell you?”

Mattingly’s actions speak loudly enough. Matt Kemp has started 36 of 37 games in left field since Crawford went on the DL May 28. After trying to shuffle and accommodate four every-day outfielders through the first two months of the season, Mattingly has settled on Yasiel Puig in right, Andre Ethier in center and Kemp in left as his preferred trio during Crawford’s absence. That group has started 26 times in the past 37 games with Scott Van Slyke spelling Ethier in center field against most left-handers.

Mattingly acknowledged it has been “pretty much set lineups” for the past five weeks and that continuity (both offensively and defensively) has played a part in the Dodgers’ surge to the top of the NL West standings. The Dodgers have gone 21-16 with Crawford on the DL.

“I do think there could be something to that when a guy comes to the park he knows he’s going to play. That’s a good thing,” Mattingly said. “I think we’ve been fine. I like the way we’ve been playing. I think the continuity is good. I’ve been happy with everything.”

Mattingly also said this weekend that he’s “happy with Matt – with all parts of his game, his energy, everything.”

If Kemp has replaced Crawford as the Dodgers’ left fielder, then Crawford could fill the role Kemp seemed to fill for awhile after Mattingly took the center-field job from him – disgruntled employee.

Kemp sat out five games (appearing only as a pinch-hitter) after Mattingly told him he was no longer a center fielder. He returned to the lineup only after Crawford was injured. Kemp seemed to come around to an acceptance of his new role and hit .317 with 16 RBI in June (though he has started July hitless in 16 at-bats).

“I think any kind of change is tough on guys. So I think it’s just an adjustment period as much as anything,” Mattingly said. “That’s all I’ve seen. It wasn’t him having to make a big change. It was just an adjustment of moving from center and dealing with that and dealing with the questions and whatever people think that means to just doing what the club basically asks you to do and still be a huge part of what we’re doing.

“It’s just an adjustment period. Since we got past a few days of that, everything seems to have been fine.”

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